How Cashews Explain Globalization
Cultivated in Brazil, exported by Portugal and commercialized by America, the snack enriched India,
until Vietnam took over
Cultivated in Brazil, exported by Portugal and commercialized by America, the snack enriched India,
until Vietnam took over
Hanging from the bottom of the cashew apple, a seed that curiously grows outside its own fruit, the cashew examplifies globalization.
Cashew trees were brought to India by Portuguese traders, our precursors, sailing from Brazil in the 16th century. Somehow these trees fount their way to the city of Kollam, an Indian Ocean port.
It took some time but in the late 1920s these kernels were exported from Kollam around the world. It was the General Foods Co that made deals with local Indian businessmen to collect the cashews and remove the hard shells.
This was the start of a rapidly growing $6.5 billion global business. In the United states, the largest export market, they promoted the cashew as healthy snacks and are now part of products from nut bars to substitutes for butter and milk. In India, the largest consumer market for cashews, the rising middle class is adding them to cakes and sweets. For ages, Kollam was the cashew capital of the world.
Today though, Vietnam is cashew king, thanks to a dedicated effort to automate the process. Kollam is reeling, a victim of protectionism and its unwillingness to adapt to the power of the global economy.
Cashew trees were brought to India by Portuguese traders, our precursors, sailing from Brazil in the 16th century. Somehow these trees fount their way to the city of Kollam, an Indian Ocean port.
It took some time but in the late 1920s these kernels were exported from Kollam around the world. It was the General Foods Co that made deals with local Indian businessmen to collect the cashews and remove the hard shells.
This was the start of a rapidly growing $6.5 billion global business. In the United states, the largest export market, they promoted the cashew as healthy snacks and are now part of products from nut bars to substitutes for butter and milk. In India, the largest consumer market for cashews, the rising middle class is adding them to cakes and sweets. For ages, Kollam was the cashew capital of the world.
Today though, Vietnam is cashew king, thanks to a dedicated effort to automate the process. Kollam is reeling, a victim of protectionism and its unwillingness to adapt to the power of the global economy.
